In July, Instagram granted celebrities access to its newest feature, which allows users to filter comments on their posts. While us commoners sat waiting for the update, stars like Lena Dunham and Chrissy Teigen selected words like "bag of cottage cheese," "Trump," and "cleanse" to ban from their comments sections. When the feature first became available, Kylie Jenner blocked anyone from leaving comments on her feed. She has since opened the comments section up again.
But now, the rest of us can join in on monitoring our Instagrams, too.
Yesterday, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom posted to the social network to announce that the feature is now available across Instagram. "Now, when you tap the gear icon on your profile, you'll find a new Comments tool," he wrote. "This feature lets you list words you consider offensive or inappropriate. Comments with these words will be hidden from your posts. You can choose your own list of words or use default words we've provided. This is in addition to the tools we've already developed such as swiping to delete comments, reporting inappropriate comments and blocking accounts."
He explains that he knows that tools aren't the solution for "keeping Instagram a safe place for self-expression," but vowed to "keep building features that safeguard the community and maintain what makes Instagram a positive and creative place for everyone."
Simply update Instagram in the app store, and the new feature will automatically become available to you. Twitter has not yet weighed in on the conversation, but it's only a matter of time before the major social network takes a hint from Instagram and works to ban bullies and trolls.